As the spectators arrived for the final block, a stirring demonstration of Itsutsu-no-Kata took place, producing a silent tribune, everyone in awe of the skill and commitment displayed. With such a calm venue, the athletes had the space to take some deep breaths and ready themselves for judogi control and their medal contests.
J1M -81 kg:
Shokhrukh Mamedov (UZB) began his day at the top of the contest sheet and fully intended to hold his place and finish with gold. In the final he met Shokhrukh Nazarov (TJK), a surprise finalist who won three challenging fights, including one against the second seed, to earn his chance to fight for gold.
Mamedov launched into action from the first ‘hajime’ and out two yuko scores on the board within the first minute. Nazarov would have a huge job to do if he wanted to seize the gold from Mamedov’a hands. The Uzbek was too fast and too strong to allow such a challenge and so the gold was his.
Medallists
GOLD Shokhrukh Mamedov (UZB)
SILVER Shokhrukh Nazarov (TJK)
BRONZE Mahdi Borchlou (IRI)
BRONZE Zhiwei Zhou (CHN)
J1W -70:
Host nation athlete Atsumi Nishimura (JPN) turned the seeded on its head. Dinara Kujulova had already upset the number one seed by the time Nishimura was supposed to meet her in the quarter-final but she seemed to have no concerns about her opponents as she applied slick technique to reach the final. Turuunaa Lkhaijav (MGL) came through the other side of the draw, obeying the ranking. There was no telling which way the final would go!
Kujulova attacked first but Nishimura was ready and immediately went to work on the ground. There the defensive readiness was reversed and Kujulova found her way back to her marks. Only 54 seconds into the contest, the Mongolian judoka attacked again but this time she threw with a makikomi and it was inescapable. Ippon was her reward as well as the gold medal.
Medallists
GOLD Dinara Kujulova (UZB)
SILVER Atsumi Nishimura (JPN) BRONZE Wending Wang (CHN)
BRONZE Minako Tsuchiya (JPN)
J1M -95 kg:
Mukhammad Abdukulov (UZB) and Turgun Abdiev (UZB) arrived at their final without either being among the top four seeds at the beginning of the day. The Uzbek athletes were too strong for the rest, unafraid to attack from a variety of positions. Their powerful execution gave no-one else a chance and so no matter the final result, Uzbekistan would have the gold and silver.
By far the more active of the two judoka, Mukhammad Abdukulov attacked repeatedly and going into the last minute was three scores up. Abdiev struggled to find his rhythm and as the clocked ticked down to zero he knew he had to accept the silver medal. Uzbekistan, however, would have two flags above today’s podium!
Medallists
GOLD Mukhammad Abdukulov (UZB)
SILVER Turgun Abdiev (UZB)
BRONZE Fajar Pambudi (INA)
BRONZE Mousa Gholamishafia (IRI)
J2W -60 kg:
Japan’s own Junko Hirose was expected to take the J2W -60 kg title. Experienced and on home soil, her mission was clear. However, she did not account for Jianan Wang (CHN) who overcame her in their semi-final, sending Hirose to the bronze medal contest.
In the final, Wang was set up to face Kumushkhon Khodjaeva (UZB), the second seed and a strong adversary. The latter was totally focused on her task and despite a strong first escape, Wang couldn’t hold keep Khodjaeva away in ne-waza and a pin was secured for the full 20 seconds. Khodjaeva was the new Asian Para Games champion.
Medallists
GOLD Kumushkhon Khodjaeva (UZB)
SILVER Jianan Wang (CHN)
BRONZE Dayana Fedossova (KAZ) BRONZE Junko Hirose (JPN)
J2M -81 kg:
Bexultan Kulmurza (KAZ) and Donghoon Kim (KOR) arrived in their final after a great morning our judo saw them throw all challengers off the path to gold. In their final, dynamic judo came from both competitors but it was a huge o-uchi-gari which broke the deadlock in favour of Kulmurza. It was a beautifully timed and powerful technique that knocked Kim on to his back cleanly.
Medallists
GOLD Bexultan Kulmurza (KAZ)
SILVER Donghoon Kim (KOR)
BRONZE Reza Gholami (IRI) vs Galymzhan Smagululy (KAZ)
BRONZE Otabek Irisbekov (UZB)
Day three will begin at 10am, local time, on Friday 21st October and all results will be available via IJF.org as the competition comes to a close.